Morison Margaret, Benight Charles C
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, United States.
Lyda Hill Institute of Human Resilience, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, United States.
Front Psychol. 2022 Mar 7;13:799608. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.799608. eCollection 2022.
Attachment orientations reflect individuals' expectations for interpersonal relationships and influence emotion regulation strategies and coping. Previous research has documented that anxious and avoidant attachment orientations have deleterious effects on the trauma recovery process leaving these survivors vulnerable to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, avoidant attachment may be more complicated. Prior work has also found those high in avoidant attachment but also low in anxious attachment (i.e., dismissing) may not experience such vulnerabilities. Further, avoidant attachment individuals often report higher self-efficacy than their anxiously attached counterparts. The present study examined trauma coping self-efficacy (CSE-T) as a previously unexamined mechanism of action between adult attachment and PTSD symptoms. Structural equation modeling results showed that anxious attachment was associated with lower CSE-T and greater PTSD symptoms six weeks later. Further, a significant indirect effect of anxious attachment on PTSD symptoms through CSE-T was found. Contrary to hypotheses, avoidant attachment also exhibited an indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through CSE-T, such that avoidant attachment was associated with lower CSE-T, which in turn, was associated with greater PTSD symptoms. Also contrary to hypotheses, the interaction between anxious and avoidant attachment was not significantly associated with either CSE-T or PTSD symptoms. Results suggest that both anxious and avoidant attachment orientations contribute to poor self-regulation following trauma, as they undermine perceptions of trauma coping self-efficacy.
依恋取向反映了个体对人际关系的期望，并影响情绪调节策略和应对方式。先前的研究表明，焦虑型和回避型依恋取向对创伤恢复过程有有害影响，使这些幸存者容易出现创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状。然而，回避型依恋可能更为复杂。先前的研究还发现，那些回避型依恋程度高但焦虑型依恋程度低（即疏离型）的人可能不会经历此类易感性。此外，回避型依恋的个体通常比焦虑型依恋的个体报告更高的自我效能感。本研究将创伤应对自我效能感（CSE-T）作为成人依恋与PTSD症状之间先前未被研究的作用机制进行了考察。结构方程模型结果表明，焦虑型依恋与六周后的较低CSE-T和更严重的PTSD症状相关。此外，还发现焦虑型依恋通过CSE-T对PTSD症状有显著的间接影响。与假设相反，回避型依恋也通过CSE-T对PTSD症状表现出间接影响，即回避型依恋与较低的CSE-T相关，而较低的CSE-T又与更严重的PTSD症状相关。同样与假设相反，焦虑型和回避型依恋之间的交互作用与CSE-T或PTSD症状均无显著关联。结果表明，焦虑型和回避型依恋取向都会导致创伤后的自我调节能力差，因为它们会削弱对创伤应对自我效能感的认知。
